Nottingham connected
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Engaging men is crucial in the campaign to end FGM in a generation!
By Valentine Nkoyo
It is important that young men are involved in training
as this will not only help provide them with more
information and knowledge about FGM generally,
but will also prevent FGM being done to their own
daughters in future.
Female Genital Mutilation is arguably the most
severe and brutal form of abuse and violence
against girls and women. Because it is a taboo
subject in most of the affected communities, people
often don’t know how damaging FGM is. Avoiding
such a crucial subject is dangerous as it makes it
hard for community members to understand how
gender-based violence affects society.
Having open and honest conversations in a
sensitive manner is crucial for those who still do not
understanding how FGM affects girls and women.
Once they understand, they can play a crucial role in
campaigning against it, including men whom I strongly
believe could help end FGM in a generation.
Given the complications caused by FGM, men married to
survivors of FGM need to understand fully the possible
impact this has on their partners. Lack of interest in
the subject is damaging as women end up suffering
in silence. If a woman if affected, it then affects either
directly or indirectly her children and partner. In most of
the affected communities, men are believed to be the
‘head’ of the family and hold a lot of power in relation
to decision making. Surely, if a man says their daughter
will not be cut, it will not happen! If they decide that
FGM must end in their family, then this breaks the cycle.
When we started our Mojatu FGM campaign, it was
difficult to even engage men in a conversation about
FGM let alone asking them to join our Community FGM
Steering Group. Quite often you would hear some men
saying ‘this is a women’s thing’, ‘Men don’t do the cutting,
you do it to your fellow women, why do you need men?’,
‘this is embarrassing for men’ amongst other comments.
Through awareness raising and community
engagement, about 40% of the members of our
Community FGM Steering group are men. They have
been great ambassadors of our work and were a
big part of our lobbying work that got Nottingham
declaring Zero Tolerance to FGM- the first city ever in
UK and Europe to officially do that! With their support,
our campaign has grown from strength to strength.
We supported Mark Dwira, a Masters student at
Nottingham Trent University, to carry out research on
the role of men in the campaign to end FGM and we
are pleased to see he has completed his research and
waiting to publish the paper. Members of our steering
group were instrumental in this piece of research.
Our new 2018/19 ‘Global Ambassadors of Change’
project has started where we will be training more
men, community and faith leaders and young people.
IF YOU ARE A COMMUNITY LEADER, FAITH LEADER,
YOUNG PERSON BETWEEN (16-30 YEARS) AND
INTERESTED IN BECOMING A GLOBAL AMBASSADOR
OF CHANGE, Please contact us on 01158457009 or
[email protected].
Role of men in the prevention of Female Genital Mutilation
among the Sudanese Population in Nottingham.
By Mark Hayford Dwira
The practice of female genital
mutilation is worldly perceived as
women’s agenda and therefore, it
is their responsibility to champion
in the prevention of the practice.
In contrast, this study explored
how men can utilise their status
in society as father, husband,
community, and faith leaders to
help in the prevention of FGM
among the Sudanese population in
the City of Nottingham. This study
was qualitative in nature and it was
situated within the radicalise feminist
theoretical framework, specifically
the Silences Framework and the
Post-Feminist Theory. Data were
gathered from 11 participants using
both semi-structured and focus
group discussion and was subjected
to thematic content analysis.
The study revealed that men’s roles
are enshrined in their decision-
making power in homes and
communities of the practising
countries in the UK and therefore,
they have the prerogative power
to contribute to ending the
practice among their population.
It is recommended that global
and regional organisations as well
as national governments should
redirect their campaign focus
regarding FGM to the involvement
of men and it would be a crucial step
toward its eradication.